Taunton firefighters investigate blaze in abandoned building

Monday

Oct 22, 2012 at 12:01 AMOct 22, 2012 at 10:21 PM

The Taunton Fire Department is investigating a blaze that took place Sunday night at a showroom and office building formerly used by the Stone Station company, located at site that was shut down by the granite and marble manufacturer in 2007 and has since become plagued by fires.

Marc Larocque

The Taunton Fire Department is investigating a blaze that took place Sunday night at a showroom and office building formerly used by the Stone Station company, located at site that was shut down by the granite and marble manufacturer in 2007 and has since become plagued by fires.

Deputy Chief Mike Silvia said the building had no electricity or gas connected, and added that the abandoned building was unsecured.

Silvia said it’s possible that trespassers could have set the fire. But he said that there are no witnesses to say if anyone was in or around the building at the time the fire started to suggest any kind of arson or accidental fire.

The fire was called in at 7:56 p.m. by a neighbor on Arlington Street who saw the building on fire, he said.

“I first pulled up and there was heavy smoke,” Silvia said. “The building almost totally involved in a fire. It took us a while to knock it down. The structure is still standing. After preliminary investigation, no one was on site. There were no witnesses to tell us what they saw, no one in vicinity and no one to come forward to say they saw anything.”

Silvia said it remains a local investigation, but he has reached out to representatives of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives.

Silvia said there have been reports of homeless individuals staying in the building and that there are skateboarders who loiter around the area.

“I’ve got reports that homeless from time to time occupy it, but no one has seen anyone in the area or come forth to say there was anyone in there,” Silvia said. “It’s possible it was homeless people. I’ve been told that kids do a lot of skateboarding there. No one has seen anyone in the area or come forth to say they were in there. Without anyone coming forth to offer additional information it’s difficult to pinpoint the cause of the fire.”

Stone Station New England Inc. opened in 2001 on the industrial site. The Oklahoma-based company closed its Taunton location in 2007, before Allied Stone of Durant, Oka. came into possession of the property.

The building is currently under the ownership title of Leo Properties, a limited liability corporation in Durant, Okla., which is tied to Allied Stone.

For years, security, illegal dumping and vandalism have plagued the property.

A fire took place at Stone Station’s former main building at the site in 2008, destroying the facility. Silvia said that earlier this year there was a fire in a one-car garage at the site.

Silvia wondered about whether the company that owned the buildings was up to date on its property taxes, but staff at Taunton’s City Hall confirmed that it had.

No firefighters were hurt putting out the blaze at the show room on Sunday night, Silvia said. The fire department remained on the scene until shortly after 1 a.m., he said.

Taunton firefighters didn’t require help from other departments, Silvia said.

The showroom and office building was a three-story building, about 80-feet by 30-feet, Silvia said. He suspected that the fire started on the lower levels.

“I did speak to the owners when we had that small one-car garage fire earlier in the year,” Silvia said. “I asked them to secure that building.”